Chapter Text
Wriothesley found himself woke up in the middle of the night again. Turning his head to his side, he faintly saw that Neuvillette was twisting and turning beside him, sweat coating his forehead again.
Wriothesley extended his hand to feel the other’s temperature, the fever has gone down slightly, but it is still there. He grabbed a tissue from the bedside table to gently wipe away the sweat, trying to alleviate the pain he is suffering in this sickness.
Neuvillette groaned, glazed eyes locked with blue eyes. Neuvillette tried his best to move closer to the larger body, letting his head rest on the other chest while Wriothesley embraced him.
The light knocks of rain hitting the window alerted Wriothesley and made him pull the dragon closer to his figure. They stayed in this position for a while before Wriothesley asked what’s wrong.
“I-I had a nightmare… of losing you…” Neuvillette mumbled while burning his head further in his chest, if Wriotheslet hadn’t been focusing on worrying about the dragon, he must have joked about how the other would have suffocated in his chest.
“Hey, I’m here right now, and that is all that matters.” Wriothesley knew too well what Neuvillette was talking about. As a mortal with limited lifespan, having an immortal partner means the other will have to suffer through the passing of their lover.
The weight of this topic has always been heavy and every time either of them bring up this topic, no results would be concluded. Sometimes it left Neuvillette depressed for days, even though he did not cry, the weather of Fontaine had betrayed him.
“I saw you in a pool of blood in the distance, lying on the ground lifeless… I-I rushed to you immediately but I still lost you.” Neuvillette spoke up, looking up to meet the eyes of his mate. Wriothesley could see tears on the verge of his beautiful eyes, so he wiped it away using his finger.
“Darling…” This was all Wriothesley could mutter, he was at a loss for words. He hugged Neuvillette tightly, hoping it would ease him. This was the first time Wriothesley saw Neuvillette in such a vulnerable state, it really makes Wriothesley understand further that his lover was really struggling on this topic.
In the point of view of the public, Neuvillette was the chief justice, an unmoving and emotionless figure. But in truth, just like normal beings, there would be days where he would put down these justical robes, and simply be a dragon with wild emotions
Wriothesley could only do his best to try and calm down the dragon, whispering soft words to the other until the dragon fell back asleep once again. Only then Wriothesley allowed himself to drift off as well.
The figure Wriothesley was holding during his sleep fought out of his embrace, rushing to the bathroom. Wriothesley was immediately alerted and got up, following closely behind.
Neuvillette was throwing up again, and being a good mate Wriothesley was, he stayed by Neuvillette’s side. Holding his pearl white hair and rubbing his back, giving him a glass of water and letting him lean on his bigger body as he catches his breath.
“Guess you would need another day off, You are in no condition to work.” Wriothesley mumbled as he wrapped his arms around the limp body. Neuvillette only nodded slightly.
“Here, let's get you back to bed first.” As he hoisted up the dragon and got him back to bed. Wriothesley really wanted to talk about what happened last night, about Neuvillette’s insecurities, but he decided to put it aside first as the priority now is to nurse Neuvillette back to health, feeding him medicine and resting.
“Wriothesley, I have a report in the Palais that requires my attention. I remember it should be delivered to my office today… Can you please help me get it?” Neuvillette asked softly. Normally, Wriothesley would not allow it, as Sigewinne would say “Work is abandoned when you are sick”. But after last night, he didn’t want to make Neuvillette upset anymore.
“... sure, I’ll ask Sedene where it is. I’ll go after making you breakfast.” He kissed the other’s forehead and left the bedroom. After a few minutes, he came back with some soup and a piece of toast, handed it to Neuvillette, gave him a small kiss before he left again.
Neuvillette dipped the dry toast into the soup, munching it as it filled his empty and demanding stomach. He was no longer hungry and was satisfied with the simple breakfast his darling made for him. Glancing over to the shelves of his bedroom, he remembered that he had a few trial cases kept here. So he stood up and still for a few seconds, before walking slowly and reaching up to grab some folders.
With the folders in his hands, the dragon climbed back to the soft bed and leaned on the soft pillows. Opening one of the files, Neuvillette started scanning the files, reading them as he waited for the report Wriothesley promised to bring him.
Researchers from the Fontaine Research Institute noticed the levels of Arkhium is highly unstable recently, they propose that…
…
Neuvillette blinked and rubbed his eyes as he realized he started to drift off. He tried to refocus on the document before his eyes.
… They propose that by providing them with more supplies, they could…
Neuvillette shaked his head, leaning his head on the base of his palm, sensing a headache was coming. It took him a lot of focus and time to finish the first page of the file. He sighed quietly, deciding that he should rest for now in order to read the coming folder.
Wriothesley walked up to the Palais Mermornia, pushing the door open. One of the staff saw Wriothesley and asked for his purpose of visit.
“Oh, I am here to get a report on-” Wait… he couldn’t say he was with Neuvillette all this time and he asked him to get that report to the staff. “... Ahem, I mean I left a report in the Iudex’s office the last time I visited, I am here to get that back.”
The staff looked at Neuvillette’s office, “I am sorry, the Iudex has not yet returned from his duties and his office is currently locked. If you do not mind, you could wait for him to return.”
Wriothesley nodded as he thought of other ways to enter Neuvillette’s office without them knowing his actual reasoning. He just couldn’t say ‘oh, Iudex Neuvillette told me to get that file for him’ since in the eyes of the public, they were just colleagues. Logically, anyone in the Palais should be more trustworthy than a former convict to Neuvillette.
As he was thinking about how to sneak into the dragon’s office, Sedene walked out from the room behind her desk and noticed Wriothesley. The melusine smiled widely as she waved at him, “ Duke Wriothesley, I am glad to see you here. Oh, is Neuvillette doing well?”
Wriothesley completely forgot about how he could ask Sedene to get the file for him. He chuckled at his own stupidity before walking up to the secretary’s desk and lowering his voice so no one except her could listen.
“Hey, nice to see you too Sedene. Neuvillette is doing better now but he still needs bed rest in the meantime. I was wondering if you could open the door to his office so I could retrieve something in there?”
Sedene put her paw under her chin for a few seconds, looking up at the ceiling as her mind processed, before her eyes went wide open and smiled. “Oh I know which document you were looking for. Please wait here, I’ll get it for you.” She reached for the key to Neuvillette’s office on her desk and skipped to the large door.
Wriothesley waited for her at her desk for a while and got the blue document from Sedene’s small paws, said goodbye to her, and left the Palais. Before he went back to Neuvillette, he bought some food so that he could cook it and enjoy the meal together.
Wriothesley went back to the house and he put down some shopping bags on the couch. He walked upstairs and peaked into the bedroom. Seeing that Neuvillette was sleeping, he walked in as quietly as possible, not hoping to wake him up.
He sat down on the side, caressing Neuvillette's cheek gently. He left the document on the bedside table, and when he turned back to the sleeping figure, the dragon opened his eyes lazily.
“You feeling better?” Wriothesley asked as he laid the back of his hand on his forehead. He felt that the fever died down considerably, but the dragon still looks tired.
Neuvillette sat up, “I am much better, though I am still a bit light-headed.” He rested his head on Wriothesley's shoulder, closing his eyes to take in the scent of his mate.
“I got the report you requested with the help of Sedene, it’s just on the bedside table now.” Wriothesley embraced him lightly, playing with the pearl white hair as he mumbles.
“My thanks to you, I will deal with it later.” Neuvillette buried his head further into the other’s shoulder, signalling that he wants some cuddles from his lovely mate.
Their relationship could never let the public know, Neuvillette could already imagine what would the Steambird headlines will be if they were to find out, A SECRET REVEALED: DUKE OF MEROPIDE AND CHIEF JUSTICE OF FONTAINE WERE DATING!?
The two important figures of Fontaine were in love, how ridiculous would it be were the public found out, and what reaction would they have… Neuvillette knew for a fact that they had been receiving love letters from random people in both the Palais Mermornia and Fortress of Meropide, so he knew not everyone would be happy about this news.
Plus, people may suspect whether Neuvillette would stay impartial when it comes to court cases, as more convicts sent to the fortress means more opportunity to see each other too. Therefore, it would not be wise to reveal their relationship to the public blindly without planning.
A quiet sigh left the dragon, while inhaling a familiar scent. He immediately relaxed his tense body in the arms of his mate, purring at the warmth from his mate.
Neuvillete opened his eyes lazily, strong, scarred arms were wrapping him tightly. Having Wriothesley as a protective and powerful mate is something Neuvillette is very proud of, the thought of his mate protecting and caring for him has made Neuvillette blush slightly.
It was the next day already and Neuvillette was feeling much better, at least he was no longer having a fever and dizzy, but his nose remained stuffy and he was still coughing a bit.
His itchy throat has broken the peaceful moment of him taking in the sight of his beautiful mate, and making Neuvillette to cough, waking Wriothesley in the process.
Although Wriothesley had just woken up and his mind was still foggy, he sat up a bit and grabbed a tissue on the bedside table, handing it to the coughing dragon. Then he laid back down and hugged him gently, smoothing his back with his hand.
After a while when Neuvillette stopped coughing, Wriothesley started to mumble in his deep voice, “Morning sweetness, you feeling better?”
“Much better, albeit I am still slightly fatigued.” Neuvillette replied with his hoarse voice. He really appreciated his mate’s gesture as he kissed him softly behind the pointed ear, earning a quiet purr from the dragon.
So they just lay in bed for a couple of minutes, continuing to enjoy the morning breeze coming from the window and the warmth from each other, with Wriothesley burying his nose in the white hair and the dragon stuffed his face in his mate’s chest.
They cuddled in their shared bed for a little longer, enjoying the private moment they had in the meantime before Neuvillette decides to leave the bed and dress himself up.
“Huh, didn’t you just say you were still feeling unwell? Where are you going?” Wriothesley sat up in the bed, stretching himself as he glanced at Neuvillette grabbing his justical robes from his wardrobe.
“I am going back to work today, I have stayed at home for quite some time already. Trials have been delayed for far too long and work has to be done.” Neuvillette simply replied, reaching for the comb for his long hair.
“Must it be today? I am sure that Sigewinne wouldn’t allow you to work if you are still unwell.” Asked Wriothesley as he left the bed and he extended his hand, signaling that he could help the dragon with his hair.
“Yes, I am truly sorry. But the trials could not be delayed any longer. I must return to my duties…” Neuvillette softly muttered, he knew he should have stayed at home, but for the sake of Fontaine, he must return.
Wriothesley looked into the mirror, he saw Neuvillette had a hint of sadness in his beautiful violet eyes, so he leaned down and gave a light peck on his soft cheek. “Hey… I know and I understand. We both have our duties in Fontaine. So if you are 100% sure, then I’m not gonna stop you. If you are going back, then I’m going back to the Fortress too.”
Wriothesley smiled so warmly at Neuvillette that it made the dragon blush and look away. “...Thank you, darling.”
Wriothesley gave him a grin in the mirror as he heard the reply his love said. He hugged him tightly, then they continued to dress up themselves.
As they stood in the front door to the public, Wriothesley spoke up.
“Hey Neuvillette?”
“Yes?”
“I love you…”
“Me too, my mate.”
“...See you again at the next meeting?”
“... Of course, I will miss you.”